Mom and Dad's Christmas Lantern

Last month, brilliant Monique shared another of her beautiful creations, a decorated Ikea lantern scene, and I was so charmed by it, I was soon emailing her to tell her I was copying the idea for my parents for Christmas.  ♥  I found the same lantern online, began ordering tree, lights, and blue gingham dollhouse furniture for it, and then was flummoxed when the lantern arrived in pieces-needing-to-be-assembled and emailed Monique again to ask how she'd put hers together, sigh.  :)  Eventually, I got it together--the story of my life, ha ha--and I finished it the day before taking it home for an early Christmas with my family.  :)  It's such a sweet idea, and it's not one I'd have ever thought of, filling the inside of a lantern like this.  More thanks to Monique for sharing, as she always does.  ♥ 

I began mine with what became the living room carpet, :) an old hand-towel in Mom  and Dad's shade of gray-blue.  A small snowflake doily-ornament came off my tree to become a miniature tree skirt.  After I'd gotten the decorating done, Mike figured out the lights. 

A heart appeared while we worked on it.  ♥ 

I had bought a miniature Beagle for Dad, as he's aching to have another one but Mom's not keen on the idea.  I crafted a mini newspaper out of folded-up/glued-together newspaper snippets and made a mini country decorating magazine for Mom.  I'm not happy with the collar-and-red-heart-tag that ended up looking like a bandana--Dad would never have a bandana-wearing dog--but I'd already hot-glued it into place before I realized how oversized it was. 

Part of a stained blue holiday towel that we no longer used but that I hadn't wanted to throw out found a new life as an afghan for the back of the couch.  I unraveled more of its yarn loops to make tiny  ornaments,  and I made a few little wrapped gift-bundles for under the tree.

A snowflake-patterned scrap of the same towel became a pillow, although the snowflake design isn't obvious.  The basket and shiny bow-wrapped gift beside it were little bits I'd saved from other projects over the years--and I'm glad I did.  :) 

I ordered a miniature Swedish tea ring from an online artisan, since that's what Mom always bakes for Christmas morning's breakfast.  ♥  I cut out paper napkins to go with that and the tea cups. 

The tree has its own built-in string of lights, and I draped the other strand around the couch for a little more glow on that side of the "room."   

When it was all put together and lit up, it looked full enough--and very much like Mom and Dad's actual living room at Christmas, which is what I was going for, of course.  ♥  (Again, how fun is this idea!  I want to make them for baby showers and birthdays and garden parties and weddings and kids' rooms and other holidays and! and! and. . . !)  :) 

I took a final picture in full sunshine right before wrapping it--

--and Mike and I gave it to Mom and Dad on the 21st.  Mom was as delighted as expected, and Dad was just happy to see a Beagle in his living room finally.  ;)  Here's to the fun and love of Christmas, and here's to the sharing of sweet ideas.  ♥